Gophers Garner Three All-America NodsMike Reilly earned First Team status while Kyle Rau and Adam Wilcox were named to the Second Team.

Mike Reilly is the first Gopher to earn First Team All-America honors since 2009.

April 11, 2014

PHILADELPHIA (GopherSports.com) – A night after one of the most exciting finishes in program history, the University of Minnesota men’s hockey program continued to celebrate on Friday as three Gophers earned CCM Hockey/AHCA Division I Men’s All-America honors.

Mike Reilly became Minnesota’s newest First Team All-American, and the team’s first since 2009, on Friday while Kyle Rau and Adam Wilcox were both named Second Team All-Americans. The accolades are the first All-America honors for all three players.

A sophomore from Chanhassen, Minn., Reilly was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and was a First Team All-Big Ten selection this season. The sophomore led all Big Ten defensemen and ranked among the top-10 defensemen nationally with nine goals, 23 assists and 32 points. All three statistics are career bests for the Columbus Blue Jackets draft selection. Reilly is Minnesota’s first First Team All-American since Ryan Stoa garnered the honor in 2009 while the blue liner joins a long line of Gopher defensemen under head coach Don Lucia and associate head coach Mike Guentzel to earn All-America accolades including NHL players Alex Goligoski, Keith Ballard, Jordan Leopold, Paul Martin and Nate Schmidt.

The Big Ten Player and Goaltender of the Year as well as a First Team All-Big Ten selection, Wilcox is the first Minnesota goaltender to earn All-America honors since Kent Patterson in 2012. The sophomore ranks second nationally in save percentage (.930) and goals against average (1.86) and third nationally in wins (26). The South St. Paul, Minn., native leads the Big Ten in all three categories. A Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick, Wilcox is on track to set new Minnesota single-season records in both save percentage and goals against average while he already ranks among the top-10 Gophers all-time in career wins and shutouts.

A team captain for Minnesota, Rau leads the team with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) this season including the overtime winner to clinch the Big Ten regular-season championship for Minnesota. A Second Team All-Big Ten honoree and a Florida Panthers draft pick, Rau picked up his 100th career point midway through the season while his two assists in Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal win gave the junior 75 career assists. Minnesota is 65-10-6 all-time when the Eden Prairie, Minn., native tallies a point while 19 of his 47 career goals have been game winners.

Minnesota will compete for its sixth national championship on Saturday against Union. The Frozen Four finale is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN and WatchESPN with radio broadcast set for 1500 ESPN and the Gopher Radio Network.